sockknitteranon:

feministingforchange:

@sockknitteranon reblogged your photoset and added:

Yep, that one.

Good good, does this help to clarify? I think I figured out what was happening?

That makes sense, yeah. I just… It feels like there’s a war in the disabled community–visibly disabled versus invisibly disabled, able-bodied neurodivergent versus physically disabled, blind versus seeing but otherwise disabled, etc.

And I don’t just mean on tumblr or among kids. I was thrown out of a RL disability support group, average age 42, because “yeah but you look normal so you don’t need to be here.” That coming three days after I was asked to leave a public function in the town square because my medical equipment (a TENS unit clipped to my waistband and a cane) was “scaring the children present” and “you’re young and I don’t want to have to explain to them that young people can be cripples.”

So I am always super wary of people who respond to invisible disability stuff with “yeah but other disabilities…”

Wowwwww I’m so SO sorry to hear this, I had no idea. As I said, I’m fairly anti-social and i’m a hermit so I don’t really swim in many offline circles to begin with hahahahah. I definitely don’t blame you for being skeptical of that person’s comment under such circumstances. *hugs if wanted*

That said, I have paid dearly in my life for the knee-jerk need (mostly abled) adults have to insist that kids/youth don’t get sick or hurt or whatever. This erasure & denial leads to actual abuse of ppl like you and I and sooooo many others. I’m going to try to make public education about this issue a part of the mandate of the #InvisiblyDisabledPplExistmovement. 

jacensolodjo:

When we say make Pride more accessible we mean make sure disabled folks can actually enter the gay bar. (We see your doors with a lip on them.)

When we say make Pride more accessible we mean don’t pack people in and make it hard to move in mobility aids. 

When we say make Pride more accessible we mean stop having Pride events that only happen on grass. 

When we say make Pride more accessible we mean make sure all bathrooms are easily found and usable. 

When we say make Pride more accessible we mean make sure we actually can sit somewhere if we need to. If all the seats are bar stools that is not helping or helpful. 

When we say make Pride more accessible we mean don’t expect everyone can dance physically. 

Stop using ‘that’s just how it’s always been’ as an excuse. Intersectionality in the community needs to be a thing. 

Handicapped queer folk exist, too. 

wizardpotions:

please teach kids that its not normal to be in pain all of the time, we also need to start taking kids seriously when they talk about pain or difficulty physically, kids and teens can absolutely have chronic pain, medical conditions and disability that you cannot see. a kid isnt going to lie to you about being in pain 24/7 repeatedly.

Geovana Luiza is a stunning 21 year old model, blogger and vlogger from Brasilia, the capital of Brazil.

Geovana was born with spina bifida myelomeningocele. This is a congenital condition in which there grows a malformation in the spine during pregnancy causing damage to the spinal cord. In Geovana’s case, her spinal cord was completely severed and she was diagnosed with a complete spinal cord injury. Because of this, she has been paralysed from her waist down for all her life and never had any feeling in her lower limbs. She also has a serious degree of both scoliosis and kyphosis(an unnatural sideways and front-to-back curvature of the spine).

Besides this, she also has a condition called hydrocephalus, meaning that there was an abnormal buildup of fluid in her brain. This could luckily be solved by the placing of a tube that drains the excess amount of liquid(also known as a shunt).

Because of the excellent treatment she received in the hospital, Geovana grew up in perfect health. Nonetheless, she often noticed she was looked at in a different way because of her wheelchair. For example, people often think she needs help with practically anything and there have even been cases where she was approached as if she was mentally disabled because of her wheelchair!

These prejudices couldn’t be further from the truth though. Of course, changing a lightbulb would be very difficult for her, but outside these kind of things, she lives completely independent from others and does everything by herself.

To get rid of these kinds of prejudices and to educate people about the life of people with disabilities, Geovana started a YouTube channel where she talks about her life as a wheelchair user. If you’re interested, just check out the link down here ⬇️

Geovana Luiza

Also, feel free to follow Geovana on Instagram or to visit her Facebook page by clicking the link down below ⬇️

Geovana Luiza

huskychronicles:

trainingfaith:

You’re sitting at a cafe with your friend when suddenly a woman walks in with a toy poodle in her purse. The manager at the counter informs her “I’m sorry, but we do not allow dogs”. She replies with a heavy sigh and a “She’s a service dog. She can come with me”. Not knowing much about service dog law, and worrying about getting sued for asking further questions, he sits this woman down at a booth. There, she promptly unzips her purse and places the dog on the booth seat next to her. When the woman’s food comes out, the little dog begs and she feeds her bits off her plate. This dog is not public access trained, and proceeds to bark at those who walk by. This dog is a nuisance and causes many in the restaurant to complain. The manager cannot do anything but inform the unhappy customers that this is a service dog, so he can’t ask her to leave. In the end, it’s the customers who end up leaving.

Now I walk in with my highly trained service dog pressed against my leg in a perfect heel position, and I’m quickly bombarded by the manager telling me “No dogs! No dogs! We ALL know what happened last time”. Confused, I tell him “This is my medical alert and medical response service dog. Her right to accompany me is protected under federal law.” With a sigh, he seats me at a table far away from others where my dog promptly tucks under my feet, out of sight. When my food arrives my dog is still tucked tightly under the table because she knows she’s not supposed to eat when she’s on duty. She stays there ignoring those who walk past for the remainder of my meal. When we leave, a woman by the door exclaims “Woah, I didn’t know there was a dog here!”

See the difference?

Scenario number two occurs at a local grocery store when a man decides to bring his certified emotional support animal into the store with him. Upon entering he flashes a fancy ID card and certification papers. This dog is not as unruly as the first, but he still forges ahead of his handler, sniffs the food on display, and may seek attention from those who walk past. You find this dog adorable, and when he and his owner walk past you ask to pet him. The owner says yes and explains how all he had to do was go online, register his dog, and a few weeks later they sent him a vest, ID card, and certification papers.

Now I pull into the same grocery store. I’m in a rush to get an ingredient for a dish I’m making so I hurry into the store with my service dog next to me. I’m quickly stopped by a manager who demands to see my service dog’s certification card. Remember, this is NOT required by law, and most real service dog teams don’t have them. After 15 minutes of trying to educate, pulling up the ADA website on my phone, back and forth bickering, and drawing more of a crowd than I want to describe… I’m finally allowed in. I grab my ingredient, stand in line (where my service dog obediently moves between my legs to make space for those around me), and I get bombarded by people asking to pet my dog. I explain that she’s working, she has a very important job to do, and she’s not allowed to be pet while on duty. People walk away grumbling and complaining about how rude I was when other handlers like the man they met earlier allow their dog to be pet.

Moral of the story? Fake service dogs create real problems. The ones who are impacted the most are the true service dog handlers who rely on their dogs every day to help mitigate their disability. How would you feel if everywhere you went, you couldn’t make it 10 feet in the door because people were asking you questions? Imagine how much time that would take out of your already hectic day. Businesses lose customers because word gets out that there are unruly dogs in their store, customers become misinformed and start thinking some of these behaviors are okay, some people even start to believe the lies that anyone can just register their dog online and make him a service dog. The result? MORE fake service dogs. MORE real problems.

I will reblob this until I die because it’s one of the few things that constantly genuinely infuriates me

poptartmochi:

tiktoks-for-thiccthots:

[ID: A video from @shelbykinsxo on TikTok of Amy Evans, who is wearing a bright red beret, black glasses, red lipstick, gold earrings, and a black turtleneck. Her brown hair is braided and lies across her right shoulder. She is using a ventilator and sits on a light grey chair in a beige room with a T.V. in the background. She says the following:

Hi everyone. My name is Amy Evans and I’m from Perth, Australia. I’m 23 years old and I have a neuromuscular condition called Nemaline Myopathy. It is a rare condition with roughly 30 people in Australia having NM. As a result of my condition, I use an electric wheelchair and ventilator. I also have a support worker help me with everyday tasks.

July is disability pride month and to celebrate Shelby has let me take over her account, so thank you to her. To me, disability pride month is about three things: awareness, acceptance, and action. Firstly, disability pride month is about raising awareness. Disability pride month isn’t largely covered by mainstream media. Disabled people are disabled because the environment around them doesn’t consider or adapt to their needs, therefore, this awareness is important. The awareness that comes from this month shines a light on how people can do better.

Next, it’s about acceptance. From a disabled person’s point of view, it’s all about accepting yourself, which can be a process for some. You’re also not going to accept your disability 100% of the time, and that’s ok. Lastly, it’s about action. Awareness and acceptance are nothing if something isn’t done about it. If you’re a non-disabled person then you can share disabled people’s content on social media, raise access issues in public places such as shops or restaurants, or give us a platform that we can get our message out on.

So, I hope you liked my take on what disability pride month is to me. If you enjoyed this video, head to my Instagram amy_c_evans to see more. Thanks! /end id]

My wish: For video content creators (e.g. Youtubers) to leave a 1/2″ of black space at the bottom of their videos instead of filling them with graphics so that there’s room for captions. Even if you don’t have the time to make the captions yourself, auto-captions still need a place to be. 

A Conversation w/ Jillian Mercado

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CIOrH0sDpDz/?igshid=18rbd3liwm7r2

I had the honor to speak with @jillianmercado of @blackdisabledcreative + hear from some other amazing artists earlier this week!

Check it out on Instagram’s @design page and make sure to follow all of the amazing people!

brain-buddies:

Scripts I use as a disabled autistic person when someone asks why I’m in a wheelchair (You don’t owe anyone an explanation for why you’re using a mobility aid, these are for if you want to/have the spoons):

-“I’m disabled.”

Pros:

-They can’t ask further questions because who in their right mind is gonna say “why are you disabled”

-Teaches abled-people that it’s none of their business

Cons:

-They do tend to get huffy for some reason?

-Leaves no room for Creativity

-“I have a condition that makes walking or standing for long periods of time unsafe”

Pros:

-It gets the point across

Cons:

-Often leads to further questions

-Kind of dry

-No room for creativity

-“An evil witch in the woods stole my ability to walk and I have to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life as penance for stealing her chickens to feed my family”

Pros:

-Mysterious and whimsical.

-Makes you out as tragic hero

-Interesting AND creative

Cons:

-None

taibhsearachd:

capricorn-0mnikorn:

“So when I would show my prosthetic leg in my YouTube videos, I began getting age restricted for potentially “disturbing imagery.” So i made a video talking about this, talking about how messed up and wrong that is, and the hardest thing to deal with has not been people being, like: “You do need to have a trigger warning on you.” “You’re gross.” Whatever. Uh, it’s the people who are like: “Dude, I totally get it. I’m on your side. I don’t think you’re disturbing, but–” Uh, like this one: “You kind of do deserve a PG rating in life, because you could be traumatizing to the children.” I just want you to pause for a moment, and think about that. You do realize that there are disabled KIDS out there. You do realize that there are kids with, uh, limb differences and amputations, who have to go to friggin’ school. Are you suggesting that the world and their other classmates need to be protected from the sight of them, because they could be traumatizing? “What if the kids don’t know how to deal with it?” Then they LEARN. That’s part of growing up. This is absolutely absurd. Comments like this make me so frustrated, because it’s like they’re coming at you like they’re an ally, and they just want to help, but what they’re saying is so messed up.”

—

“Footless Jo,” Children do NOT need to be protected from the sight of disabled people (YouTube short, uploaded 21 March, 2022) Edited transcription of auto-generated comments.

—

I’m angered and frustrated by the newest crop of anti-trans, anti-queer, and anti-critical race theory laws in their own right, because they are unjust and detrimental to the whole of our society, even though I am cis and white.

But then, I get occasional reminders that there are people working at YouTube, and people in YouTube’s audience who think Iand other Disabled people, are also“Age-Inappropriate,” and I get a momentary twinge of fear, mixed in with that anger. How much longer until I cannot freely discuss Disability History, without fear of retribution or sanction (not that disability history is discussed at all, now, except within the Disability Community).

And I also realize that that twinge of fear is evidence of my own privilege, because it’s surprising when it comes, and it’s brief, until it comes back. And that reminds me of how I’ve been protected by White and Cis privilege, all the rest of my life.

I’m just so tired.

I mean… people will literally say that my wife, who has visible self-harm scars, which used to be incrediblyandimmediately visible but are now far less so, requires a trigger warning just for existing with their sleeves pushed up.

No one’s body requires a trigger warning. No matter how those injuries or disabilities came about… unless they are posting actively bleeding fresh injuries (which, yeah, that’s something you have control over, and isn’t cool to inflict on people who don’t expect it)… that’s the body they’re living in. No part of that needs to be warned for. Even if the injuries are fresh. Even if they’ve got a tapestry of raised red scars, or visible fresh scabbed over wounds… that’s their fucking body. That’s their human fucking existence.

You don’t get to tell anyone that’s inappropriate.

My grandmother had a prosthetic leg when I was a small child and nobody told me that I needed a content warning to see it or that it was disturbing imagery.